The present disclosure relates to a side air bag device configured to absorb impact applied from a vehicle lateral side, and particularly relates to a side air bag device disposed between a vehicle body and a back seat.
Conventionally, a device including an inflator configured to inject gas into an air bag, a storage box provided with an opening on a vehicle front side and configured to store the air bag and the inflator, and a resin base cover configured to cover the storage box from the vehicle front side has been known as a side air bag device disposed between a vehicle body door and a back seat in a vehicle width direction (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-040328A).
In the side air bag device described in Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-040328A, when the air bag stored in the resin storage box is expanded by the inflator, the air bag breaks a thin portion of the resin base cover on the vehicle front side and therefore expands and deploys. Specifically, a vehicle battery provided on a vehicle body and the inflator are connected together via a harness. When an impact equal to or greater than a predetermined value is applied from a vehicle lateral side, an impact sensor (not shown) detects such impact, and ignition electric power is supplied to the inflator. Then, the air bag expands and deploys at the side of a seated passenger. In this case, the air bag and the inflator are stored in the storage box with these components being held by a metal retainer. Thus, retention of the air bag and the inflator can be ensured, and the air bag can be guided in an expansion and deployment direction.
In the side air bag device of Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-040328A, the above-described resin base cover is disposed and fitted into a space between the vehicle body and the back seat, and the base cover is typically fixed with upper and lower end portions thereof being assembled with a vehicle body member. However, in driving of a vehicle, e.g., vibrations of the vehicle body and impacts received from a seated passenger are transmitted to the side air bag device. Thus, for stable attachment of the side air bag device on the vehicle body, design needs to be made to improve rigidity of attachment between the resin base cover and the vehicle body member. Particularly in the case of the side air bag device disposed in the space between the vehicle body and the back seat, the process of attaching components in a narrow space needs to be performed, and for this reason, design needs to be made to utilize existing components to ensure attachment rigidity of the side air bag device.
Moreover, in the side air bag device of Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-040328A, the inflator is stored in the storage box on a vehicle back side of the base cover, and therefore, the harness extends in a relatively-complicated pattern from the vehicle battery toward the inflator stored in the storage box. However, in the above-described side air bag device, no arrangement is made to support the harness on the base cover and the storage box as components of the side air bag device. Therefore, when the harness freely moves around, for example, under vibrations received from the seated passenger and vibrations of the vehicle body, the harness may come into contact with the air bag at the time of expansion and deployment, therefore affecting the deployment of the air bag. Moreover, in driving of the vehicle, the harness may be caught by other components, leading to deformation of the harness. Particularly in the case of the side air bag device disposed in the space between the vehicle body and the back seat, the process of attaching the components in the narrow space needs to be performed, and for this reason, the harness needs to be compactly disposed.
Further, in the side air bag device of Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-040328A, when the inflator operates to expand the air bag, a large gas pressure of the inflator allowing the air bag to expand is loaded to the storage box, and as a result, the storage box deforms. This may affect the expansion direction of the air bag. Therefore, the technique of improving, at the time of expansion and deployment of the air bag, rigidity of the periphery of the storage box storing the air bag and the inflator has been demanded. Particularly in the above-described prior art, the storage box of the side air bag device is made of metal for strength improvement, but on the other hand, it has been desired to make the storage box from resin for the purpose of weight reduction. Thus, even if the material of the storage box is changed to resin, the technique of reducing deformation of the storage box at the time of expansion and deployment of the air bag has been desired.
In addition, since the side air bag device of Japanese Patent Publication JP 2009-040328A is assembled and fitted into a space between the vehicle body door and the back seat, e.g., vibration of the vehicle body and impact received from the seated passenger are transmitted to the side air bag device in driving of the vehicle. Thus, a design is desired that reduces contact noise between the vehicle body and the side air bag device.